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The rapid development of the battery industry has brought about a large amount of waste battery pollution. How to realize the high-value utilization of waste batteries is an urgent problem to be solved. Herein, cobalt and titanium compounds (LTCO) were firstly recovered from spent lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) using the carbon thermal reduction approach, and plasmonic attapulgite/Co(Ti)Ox (H-ATP/Co(Ti)Ox) nanocomposites were prepared by the microwave hydrothermal technique. H-ATP had a large specific surface area and enough active sites to capture CO2 molecules. The biochar not only reduced the spinel phase of waste LIBs into metal oxides including Co3O4 and TiO2 but also increased the separation and transmission of the carriers, thereby accelerating the adsorption and reduction of CO2. In addition, H-ATP/Co(Ti)Ox exhibited a localized surface plasmon resonance effect (LSPR) in the visible to near-infrared region and released high-energy hot electrons, enhancing the surface temperature of the catalyst and further improving the catalytic reduction of CO2 with a high CO yield of 14.7 μmol·g−1·h−1. The current work demonstrates the potential for CO2 reduction by taking advantage of natural mineral and spent batteries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simultaneous conversion of CO2 and biomass into value-added chemicals through solar-driven catalysis holds tremendous importance for fostering a sustainable circular economy. Herein, plasmonic Bi quantum dots were immobilized on phosphoric acid modified attapulgite (P-ATP) nanorod using an in-situ reduction–deposition method, and were employed for photocatalytic reduction of CO2 coupled with oxidation of biomass-derived benzyl alcohol. Results revealed that Bi atoms successfully integrated into the basal structure of P-ATP, forming chemically coordinated Bi–O–Si bonds that served as efficient transportation channels for electrons. The incorporation of high-density monodispersed Bi quantum dots induced a surface plasmon resonance (SPR) effect, expanding the light absorption range into the near-infrared region. As a consequence, the photo-thermal transformation was significantly accelerated, leading to enhanced reaction kinetics. Notably, 50% Bi/P-ATP nanocomposite exhibited the highest plasmon-mediated photocatalytic CH4 generation (115.7 µmol·g−1·h−1) and CO generation (44.9 µmol·g−1·h−1), along with remarkable benzaldehyde generation rate of 79.5 µmol·g−1·h−1 in the photo-redox coupling system under solar light irradiation. The hydrogen protons released from the oxidation of benzyl alcohol facilitated the incorporation of more hydrogen protons into CO2 to form key CH3O− intermediates. This work demonstrates the synergistic solar-driven valorization of CO2 and biomass using natural mineral based catalyst. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is still a critical challenge to prepare engineering plastics with multi‐functionalities and high‐performances while considering their aesthetic properties and dyeing processes. In this study, a light‐colored conductive nanorod (CNR) was employed to mediate the morphology of immiscible polypropylene/poly(butylene succinate) (PP/PBS) blends. The CNR could be only located in polar PBS phase to effectively control the viscoelasticity ratio between binary phases. By incorporating just 9 per hundred resins (phr) of CNR, the sea‐island structure of PP/PBS (70/30) would transform a stable co‐continuous morphology of PP/PBS/CNR (70/30/9). The addition of CNR led to a significant reduction in blends' surface resistivity and volume resistivity. Simultaneously, the mechanical properties and appearance colors of the ternary blends were improved. The effect of CNR in morphological mediation was further verified with PP/poly(butylene adipate terephthalate)/CNR (PP/PBAT/CNR) and PP/poly(ε‐caprolactone)/CNR (PP/PCL/CNR) blends. In summary, this work provided a desirable engineering plastic, demonstrating permanent antistatic performance, improved mechanical properties and good colorability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Photocatalytic nitrogen fixation is considered a promising strategy for addressing the energy crisis; however, it suffers from sluggish thermodynamics and kinetics. The photoredox coupling reaction has the potential to overcome the above obstacles by co-producing ammonia fuel and valuable chemicals. In this study, we propose a solar-driven catalysis system based on natural minerals and biomass waste for coupling photocatalytic N2 reduction with biomass oxidation, thereby realizing the concept of "trash to treasure". Specifically, Fe-modified attapulgite (Fe-ATP)-supported hydrothermal carbon (HTCC) nanosheets were synthesized by a microwave hydrothermal method to form an HTCC/Fe-ATP heterostructure mimicking a natural branch-leaf morphology. HTCC/Fe-ATP exhibited significantly improved carrier separation and transport efficiency due to the formation of its S-scheme heterostructure. Consequently, the 30% HTCC/Fe-ATP composite demonstrated remarkable photocatalytic N2 fixation capability coupled with the conversion of benzyl alcohol under visible light. Notably, the ammonia production rate reached 102.8 μmol g−1 h−1, while the yield of benzaldehyde reached 155 μmol g−1 h−1, and the selectivity was close to 99%. The nanocomposite exposes abundant active sites for N2 adsorption and effectively enhances visible light absorption. Furthermore, the presence of benzyl alcohol in the reaction system effectively improves the nitrogen fixation efficiency. This study presents a novel perspective for valorizing N2 and biomass into value-added chemicals in a photo-driven catalysis system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Complex pollutants are discharging and accumulating in rivers and oceans, requiring a coupled strategy to resolve pollutants efficiently. A novel method is proposed to treat multiple pollutants with C,N co-doped TiO2 hollow nanofibers coated stainless steel meshes which can realize efficient oil/water separation and visible light-drove dyes photodegradation. The poly(divinylbenzene-co-vinylbenzene chloride), P(DVB-co-VBC), nanofibers are generated by precipitate cationic polymerization on the mesh framework, following with quaternization by triethylamine for N doping. Then, TiO2 is coated on the polymeric nanofibers via in-situ sol–gel process of tetrabutyl titanate. The functional mesh coated with C,N co-doped TiO2 hollow nanofibers is obtained after calcination under nitrogen atmosphere. The resultant mesh demonstrates superhydrophilic/underwater superoleophobic property which is promising in oil/water separation. More importantly, the C,N co-doped TiO2 hollow nanofibers endow the mesh with high photodegradation ability to dyes under visible light. This work draws an affordable but high-performance multifunctional mesh for potential applications in wastewater treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A synergetic adsorption–photocatalytic-activated Fenton system using an iron-doped g-C3N4/GO (GO/Fe-GCN) hybrid with highly efficient performance was established. The highly dispersed iron species with a Fe2+/Fe3+ ratio (1.67) and mesopores (3.7 nm) with a relative higher specific area and pore volume benefited the reaction efficiency and the contact of organic pollutants with the active sites. In the dynamic adsorption–photo-coordinated Fenton system, the maximum removal rate of GO/Fe-GCN reached 96.5% and equilibrium was 83.6% for Rhodamine B. The GO component not only enhanced the adsorption but also provided a higher efficiency of photo-generated carrier separation and transport. The hybrid structure of GO/Fe-GCN and the high efficiency of circulation of Fe(III)/Fe(II) played an essential role in the synergy of the adsorption–enrichment and the photo-coordinated Fenton reaction. GO/Fe-GCN can also be used to treat complex waste-water containing metallic ions, metal complexes, and organic pollutants, which could allow potential applications in the treatment of water pollution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A polydimethylsiloxane‐block‐poly(methyl methacrylate) (PDMS‐b‐PMMA) diblock copolymer was synthesized by the atom transfer radical polymerization method and blended with a high‐molecular‐weight poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF). In this A‐b‐B/C type of diblock copolymer/homopolymer system, semi‐crystallizable PVDF (C) and PMMA (B) block are miscible due to favorable intermolecular interactions. However, the A block (PDMS) is immiscible with PVDF and therefore generates nanostructured morphology via self‐assembly. Crystallization study reveals that both α and γ crystalline phases of PVDF are present in the blends with up to 30 wt% of PDMS‐b‐PMMA block copolymer. Adding 10 wt% of PVDF to PDMS‐b‐PMMA diblock copolymer leads to worm‐like micelle morphology of PDMS of 10 nm in diameter and tens of nanometers in length. Moreover, morphological results show that PDMS nanostructures are localized in the inter‐fibrillar region of PVDF with the addition of up to 20 wt% of the block copolymer. Increase of PVDF long period by 45% and decrease of degree of crystallization by 34% confirm the localization of PDMS in the PVDF inter‐fibrillar region. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry A novel blend system of poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF)/polydimethylsiloxane‐block‐poly(methyl methacrylate) (PDMS‐b‐PMMA) is investigated. The results show that the PDMS nanostructured phase is localized in the inter‐fibrillar region of PVDF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]